Will Smith's Apology: Do his words say he's genuinely sorry?

Sort of...

Will Smith has issued an “apology” after his Oscar ceremony controversy.

willsmith

A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)

Is he truly sorry? What can we tell from the words he has used?

Let’s break it down

Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

Will starts with a bland and generic statement: “violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive”. This is a theme throughout this statement, he doesn’t link himself to violence in his words.

“My behaviour... was unacceptable and inexcusable”. It’s reassuring that he owns the behaviour by using the pronoun “my”, but it’s followed with a limited liability. He tells us what the behaviour WASN’T, not what it was—it wasn’t acceptable, it wasn’t excusable. He could have said his behaviour was wrong, terrible, bad etc, but he doesn’t.

After saying it was “inexcusable” he tries to offer an excuse, that a joke was made about his wife’s medical condition. He puts distance between Chris Rock and the joke by calling it “a joke” rather than saying “Chris’ joke”.

After denouncing violence, Will doesn’t say he reacted violently or even aggressively. He says, “I reacted emotionally”.

Finally, I also spot a mismatch in tenses—he says, “violence…IS poisonous and destructive” but that his behaviour “WAS unacceptable and inexcusable”.

I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.

This paragraph is better (with some caveats). He does say he was wrong here and owns it by using the pronoun “I”.

He does say his actions “were not indicative of the man I want to be”. This shows more honesty, as the temptation would have be there to say “not indicative of the man I AM”.

Once again, Will mentions violence, not relating to him and his actions, but on a global scale “there is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness”. He creates distance between himself and violence by doing this.

Like

I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.

Three times in this statement, Will says, “I would LIKE to apologize” rather than the more direct and straightforward “I apologize”. It still means it’s an apology, but by only saying he would “like” to apologize, he gives the impression it's not heartfelt or that he is only offering an apology because he thinks it is the right step to take.

It’s notable that Will does not explicitly say what he is apologizing for. It’s another example of his not being able to connect himself with the violence in his words.

I am a work in progress.

Sincerely,

Will

Will finishes with another acknowledgment that he is not perfect.

Conclusion

These words may have gone through multiple filters involving lawyers and publicists. Even so, I can see that Will does regret his actions at the Oscars, and he’s aware that he isn’t perfect.

However, the way he only talks about violence in large terms and doesn’t link it to himself or his actions is interesting. Is he creating distance between himself and his actions? Is he keeping himself legally safe?

Given he makes an excuse for his actions, the most likely thought, for me, is that he doesn’t feel totally responsible or regretful for what happened. He feels he was provoked and, as he isn’t perfect, acted in a way that he understands but thinks he would have done better to avoid.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.